Top Eagles backup QB Tanner McKee makes good on his preseason opportunity

A modest Tanner McKee sat down at the podium inside the interview room at Lincoln Financial Field late Thursday night and said he felt good following his 252-yard, two-touchdown performance in a little more than one half of action in the Eagles’ preseason opener.

But …

“You never really know until you watch film,” McKee said, smiling.

It’s hard to imagine McKee was going to find much to gripe with. The backup quarterback dazzled in the Eagles’ 34-27 victory over a Cincinnati Bengals team that briefly played starters. He completed 20 of his 25 pass attempts, threw for two scores and rushed for another, and finished the game with a 135.3 passer rating. Of his five incompletions, one was a throwaway and another was dropped.

He connected with Jahan Dotson twice early before the third receiver on the depth chart finished his night after one drive. Then he helped the other receivers further down the pecking order who are fighting for jobs stand out. He trusted Johnny Wilson on multiple 50-50 balls, took advantage of Darius Cooper’s speed for a touchdown, and found Ainias Smith on a goal line slant for a score.

“As a quarterback, it’s kind of like a point guard,” McKee said. “You kind of have to give the ball to the guys and their strengths and help them show what they do best. Whether that’s an upstairs throw, back-shoulder throw, down-the-field throw, whatever it is.”

McKee made them all.

On his 20-yard touchdown toss to Cooper, a training camp darling who broke out for six catches and 82 yards, McKee took a shotgun snap, looked off Cooper’s side, then confidently threw to Cooper in the end zone.

“It was a concept with an individual route,” McKee said. “[Offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo’s] like, ‘Give him whatever you want.’ I’m like, ‘If it’s one-on-one, we’re going to take a go ball.’ I mean, great release, beat him over the top, he made a great grab at the back of the end zone.

“It was good to see new guys make big plays and kind of have that because I feel like throughout practice you kind of have that chemistry and different things, but to see it in a game and see guys make big plays like that, it’s a lot of fun. It builds confidence for me as a quarterback to give them the ball, but also for the other guys that are on the sideline and the coaches, like, ‘Hey, these guys can make big plays in big-time situations.’”

» READ MORE: Eagles grades: Offense earns high marks in Kevin Patullo’s debut, corners struggle in preseason win

The players and coaches on the Eagles’ sideline were feeling the same about their backup quarterback, who was drafted in the sixth round in 2023 and bided his time as a third-stringer before stepping up the depth chart this offseason.

“He’s a natural leader,” running back Will Shipley said. “There’s no doubt about it. He’s just got a confidence to him, and he goes out there and performs. He controls the huddle.”

Said coach Nick Sirianni: “He did a lot of good things, went to the right place with the football, was accurate, had a really good operation, him and [Patullo], a lot of communication.”

The Eagles trusted McKee enough to elevate him to Jalen Hurts’ backup, despite the 25-year-old only having played in two NFL games. He briefly spelled last season’s backup Kenny Pickett and threw two touchdown passes on four total throws in a Week 17 division-clinching, blowout win over Dallas. Then he completed 27 of 41 throws in a meaningless Week 18 win over the New York Giants with two more touchdown throws.

With those brief performances as the backdrop, Thursday night’s showing led to some obvious social media chatter. Jokes about sports radio callers crying out for quarterback controversy. An ESPN writer even made a tiered list of NFL teams McKee could start for.

» READ MORE: Eagles’ second corner spot still up for grabs after Kelee Ringo and Adoree’ Jackson struggle vs. Bengals

McKee did everything and even got a taste of the Tush Push. He handed off to Shipley three times inside the 5-yard line on the first Eagles drive, but Shipley was stopped on third down at the 1-yard line. The crowd grew louder as anticipation built that the Eagles might run their signature play that nearly was banned this offseason with their backups. McKee said he’s rarely taken live snaps running the play in practice, but it looked seamless. He took the snap from rookie center Drew Kendall and got his 6-foot-6 frame low. Shipley and tight end Harrison Bryant did the pushing, but McKee did plenty of driving with his legs to get across the goal line.

That drive came against a chunk of Cincinnati projected starters, as did his 2024 performances late in the season. It can cause the mind to wander, so McKee was asked Thursday if he’s doing that, thinking about being able to play in the NFL as a starter.

“I’m just going to take advantage of any opportunity that’s given to me,” he said. “Right now, it’s getting ready for the Browns for next week. Obviously, earlier today, it was getting ready for the Bengals. I’m just going to be looking for the next week and ready for whatever happens, whether they’re playing their starters, backups, whatever happens, we’ll be ready to move the ball and execute. The standard is still the same, no matter who is in front of us.”